The dreadfully Inevitable.....BBCT - Phu Cat - SGN - TPE - YVR

5:30
Where am I?  Oh right.... my head hurts because I was drinking at several venues yesterday....
... but at least I remember that I am the owner of a bicycle now ;-)

6:15

I'm reading the Vietnamese News..... and tears well up again....this society is still KIND at heart.... and I DO NOT want to leave here ..... because I've finally found my kantrimen....and I know that I'm leaving Paradise....

7:00

..... and a LAST swim.....

8:00

Time to pay my bill at Bobby's...... I'm sad that Mr T is not there.... I've become VERY fond of that guy..... but saying Good Bye to Phi is also important...  a G&T at 8 am .... WHY NOT ?..... it fits my mood ;-(

9:00

Time to hand over some travel aid.... I'm going to MISS Tam & Ti/n SO MUCH !

10:10

It's becoming ACUTE... I will LEAVE within half an hour ;-(

10:40

It's heartbreaking.... Saying Good Bye to Tam & Tin.... from B I get the usual air-hug....what's the point????

Hop is taking his whole family along on this trip

(he asked before and I thought Why Not? .... the wife and three shy kids....and I manage to SLEEP through almost the entire 1.5 hour car ride ;-)

NO line up at the check-in counter...I'm here one hour before scheduled boarding..... so I have lots of time to drink a beer and eat Bun Cha Ca outside the terminal building....

This will be one of my last few 'normally' priced meals ($2.50) before I have to that overpriced hell-hole where a LOUSY meal will cost $20....

13:00

NO rush yet....I'm following the plane coming here from HCMC....

.... it's still far AWAY !

13:20....I'm Full & Tired.... I hope I won't have a screaming baby sitting next to me once the plane actually makes it here and takes off again ....

UIH - SGN ... 2 fucking hours this time (late departure & waiting loop around Saigon)

I sleep through most of the flight.... Vietnam Airlines has a bit more legroom than VietJet ;-) but I'm still exhausted when I get to SaiGon.... am I coming down with something ....?

17:30

The second cigarette on my terrace..... and there is One-Eye (I REALLY have to learn his name!) waving his heart out from the laundry roof of the other hotel 5 doors down.   That HUGE smile and the absence of a shirt......WHY am I leaving this place again ????? 

18:00

I'm on my way to my Bun Cha place....... there is an older BLIND Vietnamese man waddling down the street holding a bunch of pens between the hands of his extended arms...... SO EASY to ignore if you're into that ..... but I'm not!.... I approach him and hold a Dong bill to his one hand and mention the amount (the man is BLIND after all).... he wants to grab two pens out of his pen collection ... but I say "Mot la du!" (one is enough).... when I notice the three old ladies sitting on the curb looking at me with slightly surprised but big smiles ....  

And YES, I would LOVE to have a picture of that man with his unseeing eyes and his bouquet of pens.... but I just couldn't bring myself to do that to him..... he ain't no animal in a zoo !

Heavenly Bun Cha ;-)

And I realize that I managed to forget !  (after all it's NOT that important ;-).... until the two young preppy guys at the table next to me utter The Words..... Canada Day ....it's today.... and I'm glad that I missed it ;-)

19:30

Half an hour with Thay (an com chua?) & Huyen in the lobby.... and I'm bushed and climb up the 5 flights of stairs ......

20:30

Day la du !  Toi qua met !

3:45

Good enough..... STRETCH again to stop my back from acting up.... but it's getting better every morning .... let's hope the 16 hours plane time don't fuck it up again....

It's a calming morning view for me.....

6:45

Grandma is doing well but NOT getting any younger...... the anticipation of a period of mourning is getting stronger....... but we all have our time to LIVE..... and I'm Dancing in My Room Again......

7:30

I think another bottle of wine can't hurt..... so off I go to Coop.mart

The usual traffic pandemonium..... it used to work smoother when there were no cars ....

No nice shirts this time..... they seem to come and go.... maybe next time....

I tried to get a shot of that GORGEOUS guy behind the red crate and I got her instead ....

It's too early to veg out..... I might as well do something productive.... I only have one passport picture left..... in Canada I'd pay $17-20 for 4, here it's something like $2.... might as well do it here, eh? ......

I don't recognize the place......it's the same address but the interior has changed..... taking and printing of the picture takes less than 5 minutes.... no retouching this time ;-).... and WTF? ..... 2 years ago I paid 50,000 VND, now it's only 40,000 VND!

10:30

12:15

The plan is to have my last Bun Cha meal of this trip..... alas...

I have been affected by the African Swine Fever decimating the Vietnamese pork population!

13:00

SHITE.... in less than 2 hours I will be on my way to the airport..... and I still need to pack..... the good life is over.....

13:30

That unbearable lightness of being that I enjoyed for such a long time now is starting to wither away ..... and sadness and even worry are taking its place.

14:00

Hay di!

Trang promises to contact Chyong about the particular pair of shoes..... Huyen is her usual self....  and then I'm walking to the bus.... 5000 VND instead of 200k for the taxi ;-)

There are two black guys sitting across from me.... I half over hear their conversation .... at times I think they must be speaking some African language.... but then I realize that it's some southern US drawl..... they are from Florida..... one of them has lived here for 3 years, doesn't know ANY Vietnamese and thinks Vietnamese only smile to make money.... I feel sorry for him....

Trust Vietnam to always show you something NEW ! McDelivery !

Check-in is FAST (although disappointing since I'll have a middle seat for the long leg of the journey ...) and even immigration is FAST (they JUST open the second batch of booths when I arrive)..... so at 16:30 I'm sitting in Star Cafe and sipping on a US$ 4.50 San Pellegrino juice ... outrageous in this country! .... with an hour to kill.

17:00

The plane is scheduled to take off at 17:45..... but it's not even at the gate yet.... NOT a good sign.....

The plane pulls into the gate at 17:04.... that will be a delayed flight!

I sleep through the 3 hour flight to Taipei

Because of the late departure of my first flight it's all a bit of a rush in Taipei..... but screw that!  I'm having 3 cigarettes in the smoking lounge..... When I get to my gate, all the other people have boarded already and it's just the gate staff waiting for the last stragglers ;-)

Yes, unfortunately I have a middle seat .... there is not much else to do but SLEEP....

TPE-YVR 10 hours ...

Half an hour before touchdown, I am informed that something happened to my luggage .... I'm to speak to Ground Staff....... they left my luggage in Taipei...SHIT... I don't have a toothbrush or a clean shirt or even a USB cable.... and they won't even deliver it tomorrow evening, but the day after tomorrow....LOVELY.

I'm actually taking a taxi today....I'm too tired to take the SkyTrain... and I instantly regret it... bearing witness to that stupid glacial traffic and seeing SO MANY stores just selling USELESS stuff all along the route provides some instant food for depression ..... but the cost is bearable at $46.....

I FINALLY check into my hotel at 21:45...... 

But the door to my usual room does not open.......even Rainbow can't get it open..... fine, I'll take a different room for the night.... 

No Eda at Denny's....  the food sucks as usual.... and I'm actually checking for flights to return to Vietnam for another 3 weeks before Grandma's birthday.....

23:00